There is no denying that the folks in Coastal Alabama love a good dinner party.

Any excuse, really, for a party but when dinner is added to the mix then people really get excited. Throw in a few hundred of your closest friends, some tasty music and a menu that would make anybody’s mouth water and things really get interesting.

The Taste of Mobile, the city’s annual dinner party, is set for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 and once again it looks to be a wonderfully delicious affair. For the past 35 years the city has gotten together for this signature culinary event and organizers of this year’s event are hopeful that the tradition of goodness will continue unabated.

The drill has remained largely unchanged since it began as a small gathering of local eateries and caterers in Mobile. Only the 2012 version promises to be one of the biggest yet.

It is held within the spacious confines of the Arthur Outlaw Convention Center and will feature a host of the region’s top purveyors of cuisine. Think of a giant smorgasbord of every manner of tasty vittle to be found in our part of the world.

Here is a list of the folks who will be on hand to provide food and hydration:

Naman’s Catering

Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

Alabama Crown Distributing

Tacky Jacks

Leroy Hill Coffee

The Shed BBQ

Milo’s Tea

Original Oyster House

Repicci’s Italian Ice

Hungry Owl

Mobile Marriott

Red Lobster

Greer’s Catering

Zea’s Rotisserie & Grill

Blue Bell Ice Cream

Mediterranean Sandwich Co.

Salvation Army

Cakes by Judi

Panini Pete’s

Wintzell’s Oyster House

Renaissance/Riverview/Battle House Hotels

Heroes Sports Bar & Grille

The Royal Scam

Roly Poly

Raising Cane’s

Community Coffee

Savor…Mobile

Budweiser Busch

Zoe’s Kitchen

Brown’s Dairy

Olde South Gumbo

La Rossa

Gulf Distributing

That is a pretty stellar line up regardless of what you like to eat.

The event benefits the Goodwill Easter Seals of the Gulf Coast. General admission tickets are $25, but a limited number of VIP tickets are available for $35; they allow entry at 5:30 p.m. so you can taste along with the judges. Tickets are available at Mobile Fixture, Wintzell’s Oyster House (Airport Boulevard, Dauphin Street, Saraland, and Spanish Fort), Mobile Bay Harley Davidson locations and Goodwill Easter Seals office at (2448 Gordon Smith Drive.

For information or to purchase tickets, contact Thomas Smith at Thomas@gesgc.org or 251-380-7152.

There is lots of other stuff, too. There will be door prizes, a silent auction that includes jewelry, art and some Alabama, Auburn and USA sports memorabilia.

It’s all for a good cause and everybody has a swell time stuffing their faces, but we need never forget that there is something else at play here, something very important. The chefs, fry cooks and kitchen gurus who prepare food for this annual feast are in a competition and at stake are some high stakes bragging rights. Not only does it allow them to showcase their finest wares, it pits them against their colleagues in a pitched battle for culinary supremacy of the Port City.

A panel of (ahem) esteemed judges will be roaming the event sampling foods and at the end of the evening will hand out plaques and such to the winners in several different categories. There is no monetary reward from winning but rest assured, these professional food preparers take this contest most seriously.

Never underestimate the power of bragging rights in a state that prides itself on being able to make virtually anything a wager-worthy event.

And the judges also approach this event with an equal measure of awe and respect. For some judges merely surviving the night of nonstop eating is enough to declare victory. Attendees will also have a chance to pick their favorites in the popular People’s Choice competition.

Your working boy has been fortunate enough to have been invited to more of these things that he cares to remember. A lot of gravy has passed under the bridge since my first Taste of Mobile so when I offer some advice to those judges and likewise attendees who may be new to the game, take it to the bank.

The only really important bit of advice I can offer to rookies is to remember that it’s a marathon and not a sprint.

Pace yourself and regardless of the depth of your intentions you cannot eat everything that will be placed before you. Leave that to the professionals, like me, who know how to do it properly.